Egyptian VP escapes assassination bid

Washington (Agencies): In a sinister turn of events, an assassination attempt on Egypt's Vice President Omar Suleiman failed a few days back, but it left two of his bodyguards dead, a media report said.

The report was revealed by sources told Fox News on Saturday.Embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak had appointed Suleiman as vice president to quell the unrest in the country.

Mubarak, who has been at the helm of power in the country for nearly 30 years, is under immense pressure to quit with defiant protesters gathered at Cairo's downtown Tahrir Square stepping up their demonstration.

An Obama administration official said the attack took place after Suleiman, a former intelligence chief, was appointed Vice President on January 29. This is the first time that a Vice President has been nominated in Egypt – it happened as protests grew against the regime.

It was an organised attack on Suleiman's motorcade, Fox News said.

Egypt-Israel gas pipe attacked

Amid raging protests against the regime of President Hosni Mubarak, an Egyptian pipeline supplying gas to Israel near the Gaza Strip was attacked by unknown saboteurs on Saturday.

An official said, the attackers used explosives against the pipeline in the town of Lihfen in the Sheikh Zuwayed area of the Sinai peninsula near the Gaza Strip adding that the army has taken precautionary measures to stop the fire from spreading, the official added.

Egyptian journalist shot dead

An Egyptian journalist, who sustained bullet inury while filming protests week-ago, has died, becoming the first scribe to lose his life in the uprising against President Hosni Mubarak.

Ahmed Mohamed Mahmoud, who worked for state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper, died on Saturday night after he was shot on Jan 29, the local Al-Masry Al-Youm daily reported.

He is the first journalist to have become a casualty in the high pitched protests which have seen attacks on journalists from around the world, including from India.